Unsung Heroes: ODST
by Echo of an Idiot
Summary: Ok, actual summary is inside. Slightly AU but more mass effect than halo. OCs abundant so if you like stuph cannon, don't read. Lastly please review. I need to know what I need to improve on.
1. Down and Out

AN: Alright peoples its been reedited and some parts have been rewritten. Nothing major, still takes inspiration from Halo but not everyone is still there.

Summary: After the defeat in SOL the Alliance withdrawals its fleet. But not everyone made it to the relay. With their backs to the wall and time running out a company of ODSTs fights to secure an escape route for the remaining Alliance forces. These are the unsung heroes of Earth.

Disclaimer: I own a copy of Mass Effect no more. ODST traditions and customs were found via the novel "Halo, The Flood" by William C. Dietz witch I also don't own.

Not expecting too many hits on this, being that is as far from Cannon as one can get but if your reading drop a review and tell me how I did. I am no stranger to criticism so by all means if you don't like, flame the hell out of it.

NOW ON WITH TEH STORY

The SSV Midway, commanded by one Jacob Keys, flew past another burned and broken husk that once called itself a starship. The ship had been a cruiser, now several deep gouges marred her hull and several holes the size of small cars had been punched straight through the ship. The Tokyo as it had once been known was just another ship lying in the mass graveyard that was held in orbit around Earth. Hundreds of ships and thousands of their crew now found this their final resting place.

The Midway herself was limping on her last leg, armor pitted from mass accelerator fire and decks one through three were uninhabitable due to the eight foot wide laceration that ran length wise down her hull. Her main reactors had been compromised and subsequently shut down to be replaced by backup fule cells.

On the bridge Captain Jacob Keys looked over his bridge crew with weary eyes. He watched as they dragged on through their duties, they wouldn't last much longer that much was certain. They were all physically and emotionally drained. They had all been through too much today, but as much as they deserved it they couldn't rest. "Lt. how long can we maintain orbit?" He asked.

The boy, couldn't have been more than 20 in his eyes, turned from his terminal wearing a grim expression, "Sir, fule reserves being depleted as they are, no more than two days."

Keys looked out the veiwport at the front of the bridge. The debris feild they were flying through consisted of what used to be Earth's defensive fleet. Twisted hulls, skeletons of what used to be ships, were all that remained. "Ensign" Keys called out, "Could we make for the relay?"

The man turned from his terminal at the front of the room, "Sir FTL drives are being repaired as we speak, but even with them online we'd never make it. The Reapers on Earth would detect us the second we left the debris feild, and blow us out of the sky before we broke orbit."

Keys ran a hand through his greying hair and took another look at his crew, all of them were exhausted, in every meaning of the word. But there was more than that, they had lost hope, they were just husks waiting for their turn to die. No one had the heart to say it but everyone knew it. He pulled a pipe and lighter from his jacket pocket, normally such a thing wouldn't be allowed on board but rank has its privileges. Lighting it and taking a puff of the fragrant smoke he turned back to his crew, "Hikowa, launch a comm buoy, receive only for now. Once that's done I want a full weapons check. Lt. Bring passive scanners up. If there's anyone else out there I want to know about it."

Below deck in the mess hall the ship's non-essential personnel stood around just killing time, trying not to lose what sanity they had left. The ground teams were the worse, being grunts stuck on a ship wasn't something any of them liked. Stuck in a fight with no way to fight. All would rather have dirt beneath their boots rather than titanium deck plate. Some sat in solitude thinking or praying others clustered together talking, drinking, or just hanging around people they knew. Some tried to get in touch with their families, others had forsaken those bonds and were drunkenly hitting on anyone who caught their eye. It seemed like these would be their final hours and all wanted to be prepared to meet their maker.

One table in particular was very vocal about their situation and how "fucked up the situation was." No one argued either out of agreement or fear of the individual who said it. As it was he was seated at a table that was open to certain troops only, in order to sit here you had to wear their badge of honor. A patch on the shoulder that contained a golden comet with the letters ODST inscribed under it. This group of around forty individuals were among the elite outfit of soldiers branded as "Helljumpers".

The name came from how they entered the battlefield, normally an orbital drop was done via an armored assault ship. These ships were very prone to heavy AA fire, so another method of troop delivery was devised. Single person pods launched from tubes in a ship's belly was the answer. As the ceramic hulls burned away in re-entery the temperature in the pod rose to unbearable and sometimes fatal levels. It took a special kind of crazy to climb into a HEV ( Human Entry Vehicle) and by shot from orbit at a planet.

The leader of the company sat among his squad leaders at the head of the table. Major Alex Williams looked over what remained of his company, just over half had been dropped during the battle to protect critical targets on Earth. From the lack of communications from them they had been declared MIA and presumed dead. Forty six soldiers under his command sat at this table, all took a moment of silence to honor their fallen brothers in arms. Two minutes past, not a soul said a word. After that they had been monitoring the situation through conversations with some of the bridge crew via ship wide intercom.

Alex wasn't stupid, he knew unless someone did something they would all die on that burnt and beaten vessel. So with his squad leaders he devised a plan, fiendishly clever and just crazy enough to work. Suicidal as it was brilliant they all agreed, completely necessary. "-landing will have to take place in the city, if its in the countryside we'll never make the deadline." Alex argued.

One officer, easily the tallest there, with the name Higgans stitched into his uniform spoke up. "We're dropping into occupied territory, with no reinforcements and no intel. We need the ability to regroup quickly and move before we're discovered. That won't happen if we drop straight into the city." The soldier seated beside him, Tom was the name, nodded in agreement.

The next to speak was the only female of the group. Lightly tanned skin, shoulder length midnight black hair, and emerald eyes, she was a mirror image of the former human specter Shepard. The only difference was the name Sydney stitched into her uniform. "Alex is right, time is everything here and we won't have time to hike several miles to the city and then fight our way through. We have to go for an urban landing."

Alex looked over to John. The soldier was small by his standards, only 5' 5" and wasn't a body builder by any means. What he lacked in size he made up for with his hand to hand combat prowess and his world renowned short fuse. But what really set him apart was an assignment he got a few years prior that landed him on Acuze. He was the only one who made it off that rock alive and shortly thereafter Alex requested John be transfered to his company. He didn't talk much, preferring to stay cold, distant and professional. But even lacking in social skills his mind was as sharp as a tac, and he was one of the best tacticions Alex had ever met.

"What do you think John?" Alex asked.

He looked up from the table and spoke. "Urban landing gives away position and spreads units over hostile territory. Rural landing conceals location for short time but distance from targets possess significant problem. Both are bad choices, but Urban landing will give us more cover and quicker response time." His part said he returned his gaze to the metal table.

Alex looked over what was left of his company, "We're in agreement then?" All of his squad, even Higgans and Tom, albeit reluctantly nodded in agreement. With the plan set Alex got up and stood up from the table, raising a glass of amber colored liquid he spoke out to all of the men and women under his command, "Ladies Gentlemen, and all of you rough-neck bastards. I am here to say one thing, and one thing only. Its been a damned honor to serve with you all. You lot are the finest soldiers to ever be shot from a cannon, and I mean that." That said he downed the liquid in his glass and set it down on the table. "Finish what your doing and meet me in Hell's waiting room. We've got business to attend to."

A chorus of "Yes sir!" followed as he exited the room.

Once the doors slid shut behind him he took a moment to himself. If the captain gave him the greenlight he would be sending forty six of his closest family to their deaths, and he along with them. It wasn't something he liked having to think about, but he knew if they didn't something then no one would make it out. He reached into the breast pocket of his uniform. Retrived from it was an old fashion photograph of a woman. In a navy blue uniform was a woman, dark brown hair and icy blue eyes that could look straight into the soul. Cut through all the bullshit a person carried as he once put it.

Looking into the moment frozen in time he lapsed into memory, not three weeks ago she had been assigned to the Stalingrad. This had been taken on their last day of shore leave, just over a week ago. She was so happy then you couldn't wipe that grin off her face if you tried. XO of one of the newest, most advanced ships in the Alliance. One of the first ships shot down in the battle for Earth. She was on her way to the relay to investigate the loss of contact with the patrols. No one could have guessed how badly it would all end. "I'm coming home Rae." He thought to himself.

After a few moments he buried the picture in his pocket and did the same to that train of though. "No time to live in the past." He thought

"Sir, two distress calls are being broadcast over the E-band, signatures indicate the Everest and the Dallas. Scans also indicate several ships still have minimal life support and mobility. Probably searching for others as well." Hikowa reported.

"Set intercept course for the Everest, and establish communication with any ship you can hail." Keys ordered.

The doors behind Jacob slid open to reveal one of the grunts aboard that the captain knew personally. "Major Willams, mind telling me what your doing on my bridge." He demanded.

"Sir, I would appreciate it if I could have word with you privately." He requested

"Major, now is not the time." He said trying to dismiss the major.

"With all due respect sir, this is something you need to hear." Alex stated in a tone that left no room for an argument.

Keys glared at the major letting him know he was not about to start this today. Williams returned the gesture in full force. No one said a word as the two officers squared off, it was like a scene in an old west movie, without the guns of course. It was Keys that finally caved "Very well Major if its that important meet me in the comm room. Ensing you have the deck." That taken care of his set off to the comm room with the major in tow.

Several minutes of arguing and a fair amount cursing left Alex leaning against the wall in the comm room trying to get the captain in on his plan, "-if we were to create a distraction groundside the Midway could slip back to the relay while the Reapers focused on the 'bigger threat'."

Keys had to admit, no matter how much he hated it, the plan was sound until that point. "How were you planning to distract a fleet of inter-galactic starships hell bent on murder and destruction?"

"With the use use Fury tactical nuclear devices, their small enough so infantry can carry them with ease and powerful enough to at least hurt if not destroy them." He stated

The captain's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before they returned to their original cold stare. "Your suggesting we nuke Earth?" He shook his head. "Son, have you lost your damn mind? Never mind that the council will shit a brick when they find out, do you have any idea what the Alliance would do to you?"

"What are they gonna do? Court marshal me? Then let them, let em come and get me, I'll be waiting for em down there fighting while they cower behind whats left of their fleet." He said pointing to Earth. "Anyway, the Fury's small yield will limit the damage to a small an area as possible. If done right at least thirty percent of the city will be untouched. By the nukes at least."

"And whats you extraction plan?" Keys asked already knowing the answer but needing to see if this man was really ready to go through with it.

Alex locked eyes with the captain, "There isn't one sir, the Helljumpers will remain behind to hold the fort." He stated this as if were just another mission, no worse than any other assignment.

Keys nodded in response, not quite what he was looking for but good enough. "Make it happen, I'll allow you what you need from the armory."

Alex saluted the captain, "Thank you sir, we'll not let you down."

Keys returned the salute, "Damn right you wont."

Keys hit the intercom on the wall, "Ensign, course correction bearing 090, hold geosync orbit over London." He ordered.

Back in Hell's waiting room, as it had been dubbed, the jumpers stood in thier makeshift staging area, crates had already arrived from the armory before their leader had returned. They knew they had an assignment and all were geared up and ready when Major Willams marched into the room, fully equipped with a one man arsenal. "Listen up!" He shouted. "We're all stuck here as you all know. There's a CHANCE we can evacuate the remaining Alliance forces in SOL. HOWEVER there's also a catch. In order to do so, we have to go groundside. This is strictly volunteer only. We will not be walking away from this one. Anyone wants out, no one will hold it against you."

When no one even took so much as a glance at the door Alex did a rare thing. He smiled, "thank you all" then he took on a serious expression. "Well will jump into the thick of it. Western Europe more specificly London, images show this is where the highest concentration of the ships are currently at. Each squad will be issued two Fury tactical nukes." He hopped onto a munitions crate with murder in his eyes and shouted , "You objective, the big fucking ships walking around like they own the damn place. They came to Earth looking for a fight, and goddamn it we will oblige them!"

Shouting and battle cries resonated down the halls throughout the whole ship, even the bridge crew paused for a moment after hearing the raving below deck. Keys lowered his head and uttered a quick prayer for the men and women they were about to send to their deaths.

Alex paused allowing the crew to quiet enough for him to shout the following, "Now boys and girls, would you tell me how you plan on leaving?"

In a time honored tradition spoken from the first jumpers they all stood and roared the answer, "WE GO FEET FIRST, SIR!"

"Damned right you do!" Alex barked. "Now get to your pods, the Reapers are holding a picnic down there and every single one of you is invited. You have five minutes to strap in hook up and shove a cork in your ass!"

It was an old joke one of thier favorites and the troops laughed as if the heard it the first time. They grabbed their equipment and filed down the narrow corridor the sides lined with vertical tubes. In each was an oval pod with a certain jumpers name written on it. Once each was in thier respective pod Alex climbed in his at the end of the corridor.

Once inside Alex's hands were a blur of motion as he strapped into the safety harness and tapped away on the computer at his right. The front of the pod slid closed and locked as he removed the last of the safeties keeping his pod in place. Everything done he armed his ejection tube and braced his boots against the bulkhead. Now he just eyed the countdown timer on the screen to his right waiting.

The timer clicked zero and pod was thrown downward as the explosive bolts holding the craft blew. There was a split second of peace before the rockets kicked in and he was thrown upward. His stomach lurched and his heart rate spiked. The only thing he could do now was hold on and pray he made it safely to the ground.

AN: What did ya think? Good? Bad? Let me know in your review.


	2. Falling inside the black

AN: Damn, over 100 hits under one day. Hope you all enjoyed and continue to do so during the next installment. Not much else to say other than begging for reviews.

boredhoodman- I'm getting to the backstory but it'll have to wait a few chapters, doesn't feel right just giving the ODSTs the boot off the ship and then moving away. But have no worries, it will come. As for the timeline, I was going for a the beginning of ME 3 when Earth was attacked by teh Reapers. As my pen name proves, I sometimes forget that my readers my not have a full grasp on whats going on cuz they dont share my train of thought. So sorry for teh confusion. Rambling done, thank you for reviewing and hope you enjoy the chapter.

Alex's pod shuttered violently as it entered the outer atmosphere of the Earth. Not but a few seconds in and the air temperature was already climbing. He felt a jolt as the rocket engine above him fired up a second time and propelled him downward. As per standard insertion procedure the commanding officer's rocketed to the front of the pack, leading his men into battle as it were. The reasons for the were plentiful but it all boiled down to the sooner the officer is on the ground the sooner he can regroup his men and move out. That being said it not fun to not only be falling from orbit into the Earth but having rockets speed you up.

Williams reached his hand up and fetched a small chip from his breast pocket, inserting it into a slot in the computer within his pod he thumbed the play icon that appeared and waited. The file started up and opened comm channels to all the HEVs following him. The speakers pumped out the hyped-up strains of the Helljumpers anthem over the team freq. Regs be damned this was essential to the mission, or so he thought.

His pod finally stopped accelerating as he started to hit major turbulence in the lower atmosphere, the HEV flipped end over end as it tried to stay on course. Alex squeezed his eyes shut and held on to his harness with a death grip as the pod tumbled and flipped like a paper airplane in a hurricane. Micro-bursts from several external rocket motors desperately tried to right the craft. Though computer controlled the stabilizing rockets couldn't fight with the ever changing atmospheric conditions.

Finally a gust of wind accompanied by a blast from the rocket righted the craft on a steady course. The last inversion left him shaken but alive, he reluctantly looked out the viewportand saw only the superheated air as it burned away his HEV, but that was about to change. By his count now was about the time where you start praying. The top of the pod blew off and within a airfoil shaped drag chute deployed. His pod decelerated with a bone rattling jerk and he winced as his harness bit into flesh.

Now he was no longer plummeting at terminal velocity he could see out the window. What he saw frozen the very blood in his veins. Outside there was almost nothing left. Where once a sprawling mega-metropolis stood now was reduced to bombed buildings halfway standing, columns of smoke filling the sky. Craters dotted the surface, some the size of cars others the size of several city blocks. Through the charred remains he could make out seemingly untouched skyscrapers. But further inspection revealed they were moving. These building size things stood on legs and walked. Red beams danced from their limbs, cutting trails of destruction wherever they touched. These "Reapers" as they were known had completely leveled the city, only a small percentage was left even halfway standing.

Alex was awe-struck, there was no way this could be compared to anything. He'd witnessed orbital bombardment and tactical nukes and nothing could measure up to this. He was so lost he missed the impact warning and didn't even feel the crash when his pod touched down.

Explosive bolts in the hatch blew the door several feet from his pod once he landed. He stayed a moment, before shaking himself out of his thoughts. He had no time to think about what they had already done, lives already lost. He had focus on the lives he was here to save.

He hit the release in the center of his chest and the straps holding him there fell away. He climbed out taking the Kovalyov assault rifle on the gunrack with him. The gun was frowned upon by the rest of the alliance for the simple reason that he refused to have it "upgraded" the the disposable thermal clip heat sink. But in his opinion having to wait five seconds for it to cool off was a hell of a lot better than running out of ammunition all together.

Looking up he saw most of his troops' pods converging on his position. A sight that was all too familiar yet always a welcome one. Telling himself to pull it together put retrieved the rest of his equipment from his burnt and beaten capsule. His sidearm, homing beacon, survival pack, spare thermal clips for the pistol, and the computer witch was removed from the pod and fit into a slot on the left wrist of his armor. This was all he had, the rest was in equipment drop pods, for safety reasons and space restrictions.

Equipment in hand, terra firma beneath his boots, and an armada of pissed off ships in route. This was what he lived for.

Alex keyed his comm, "All ODSTs regroup on me. The beacon will lead the way." Orders out he took the beacon witch looked like a small metal football on a tripod. Keying a series of numbers into it with the computer on his arm he planted it in the ground in the center of the street. The device served two purposes, it set a rally point for all of the scattered forces and the equipment pods would track the signal so when they launched after the crew they'd land close by.

The major, after setting up the device, moved into one of the bombed out buildings that surrounded him. He found a way in through a broken window on the side facing the crash site.

The inside of the room furniture knocked over and thrown around the room, the ceiling had collapsed over half the room cutting it off from the rest of the building, the window was the only way in or out. Now with his men in route he came to the part he hated most. Radioing the Midway. Where as the beacon and team radios weren't that powerful and only found if you knew exactly what frequently to look on, the radio uplink was just like sending up a signal flare, anything listening nearby would know exactly where he was.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them he hit a series of keys on his computer and waited. A red light blinked five times before flashing green, "Major Alex Willams, 101st ODST, Echo company to SSV Midway. All ODST forces have touched down you are clear for equipment drop. Over."

"Copy that Major, SSV Midway acknowledges your request, equipment drop is in route."

Then exactly as he had expected his motion tracker went off, three red blips of light converging on his position. He calmly drew his assault rifle and clicked the safety off. When the first abomination rounded the corner it received a three round burst from his rifle. The husk sparked and screamed as the tungsten slugs ripped through its body. After recovering from the attack it looked back up and took off in a dead sprint towards Alex. Another burst from the rifle and it crumpled to the ground with a puddle of coolant spreading beneath it.

Alex stepped stepped through the window to locate the other two hostiles, the first was another husk who rounded the corner the previous one had come around. Like its brother it recived six bullets through the chest. It fell to the ground sparking feet from the other.

The last dot had disappeared during the scuffle and that was bad news to Alex. That means either it was cloaked or it had retreated. He looked over its last position, inside what used to be a store of sorts judging from the misshapen shelves and checkout counters up front. Inside broken glass cover the floor making stealth next to impossible. But he went in anyway, the crunching beneath his boots sounded his every move so he stayed low and fast.

One row at a time he checked. Each as empty as the last. "Shit, it got away" he mumbled to himself.

Exiting the building he was greeted with the sight of more capsules falling toward his position. Their chutes slowed them considerably more than the personnel drop pods. So ge had plenty of time to get back over to the building he had decided to wait in.

On his way his comm sounded, "Seven friendlies approaching from your three o'clock."

"Copy that, you are clear." He responded. No sooner had the words left his mouth than seven soldiers poured around a corner of the building ahead of him. "Nice to see you made it Higgs. I take it the rest aren't far behind."

The one named Higgs was the seven foot tall giant of the company, even with the fully sealed vacuum rated armor he couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. He was also the only one there and wearing jet black armor instead of the urban camo the others had, black armor was issued to all his squad leaders and Alex's was a step above with a red strip running down right arm. Michael Higgans, aka Higgs or Mike to most, was a veteran as were most of the soldiers here. But he and Alex had been stationed together since jump training, his assessment on the situation held more weight than any desk jockey that call themselves a part of "intell. "Not shure, we touched down about half a click south of here but with the shape the city's in it could take awhile for everyone to get here. Told you it'd have been better to shoot for the countryside."

"Mabey but this was a time critical assignment, no time to hike five miles to set up shop. For now the equipment just arrived so get it in that building there." He said pointing to the building his was walking to. "And have Charlie here set up a perimeter, two blocks in every direction."

Higgs nodded and relayed orders to his squad. The six individuals split up with four venturing off to secure a perimeter and two staying behind to help move crates of assorted equipment from pod to temporary command post.

Over the next forty or so minutes soldiers converged on the Post from every direction. Groups of anywhere from two to six, snipers, demo-experts, riflemen, and engineers. All made their way to the camp. They checked in, stocked up on whatever ammo they used on the way over and reinforced the perimeter.

Alex was in the "command post" with all four of his squad leaders looking over a 3D projection of the city, courtesy of images taken before they landed and the holographic projector in the floor. The map showed seven Reapers currently in London. All they needed to do was damage one. But they had ten, five megaton nuclear warheads. Their plan was much bigger than that.

John observed the projection shaking his head. "Reapers have high ground, anything approaching would by spotted miles off."

Alex studied the map for a second before an idea hit him like a MAC round from orbit. He began typing furiously on the computer mounted on his arm. "Higgs, Sydney, Tom you'll take your squads underground. Grids three and six have tunnels all over." He said while pointing to the layer of the map that had just been added, it was a map of the metro and utility tunnels that ran beneath the city. "Jonh you and I will take Alpha and Delta eastward to the Alliance armory. The backup power plants are several stories below the surface, so they should be undamaged. Once we get them up and running we'll see what we can use to raise some hell. We'll draw the majority of the forces there and let you guys slip in right on top of the bastards."

They all looked it over and so long as the tunnels weren't collapsed it was a sound plan. "Alright, Higgs Tom," He pointed to the most heavily occupied section, four Ships stalked around what used to be Islington, "Charlie and Bravo will take sector three." Next he panned back over to southern London. "Sydney, Echo's going to be on its own in here while we run as the diversion, you'll be given three Fury's instead of two. Now we have two days max but we don't need to cut it that close. Detonation should occur by 15:00 tomorrow, get to a safe distance and wait it out. These suits will save us the radiation and if all goes as planned we will make our way east and regroup in Dover." The map zoomed out and panned over until it show another destroyed city, this one though surrounded by considerably more water. "Its a long way, but it should be far enough so we can avoid too much fallout. Once we regroup all surviving forces well cross the channel and make our way to the old Alliance armory in Paris."

Gunfire from blocks away echoed down the street effectively ending the meeting. Everyone snatched up their respective weapon, assault rifles, shotguns and snipers, all locked and loaded. The sentry that came running around the corner was damn near ventilated by the firing squad he stood before. After catching his breath he reported the situation, "Major, the perimeter is being battered. It's the Collectors sir."


	3. Unstoppable

AN: First off let me apologize for taking so damn long. Ideas for this have been few and far between, and my other work has been my main point of focus. I'll try to write more on this but the next chapter isn't looking like it'll be any faster. Last of all please review, those comments good or bad are the fuel for fics of mine.

TEH FIC IS BACK, READ ON

Alex stepped through the impromptu door with everyone else following suit. "Get it our snipers on the rooftops wherever they can, and set up machinegun nests on the second floor of those buildings there and there." He said pointing to two partially standing structures. "If things go to shit have everyone fall back to the command post."

Now he was done with the runner he started barking orders to his squad leaders, "Sydney I want you covering the southern flank with that rifle. Higgs, Jonh reinforce the west. Tom east, if anyone needs me I'll be on the northern flank, all of you report back here once the attack is repelled. Move out!" Everyone nodded and ran to their posts, Alex even broke into a full on sprint up the road not wanting to miss the fight.

Once he rounded a corner he saw for the first time the army they were facing, six foot bug-looking abominations swarmed over and around the broken city by the hundreds. Some flew in with wings farther proving that the indeed were bugs, others charged the intersection with rifles ablaze. Alex sprinted for cover, not stopping until he reached a concrete road barrier in the center of the road. All the way his shields were peppered by a relentless stream of bullets from the mechanised husks.

His troopers however were machines in their own right. Taking cover behind buildings cars, and knocked over drop pods, they were hardly touched by the lead filling the air. Staggering their fire so there was always lead being put down range while others reloaded. In a heartbeat Alex jumped up, shouldered his rifle and took aim. Thumbing the safety to full-auto he let loose a hail of bullets at a collector with its shields down. The spray of armor piercing rounds tore chunks of flesh and armor from the six foot bug. It fell almost instantly, into a pool of blood not all belonging to that collector.

He turned and lined up another target, this time the enemy took notice him as he drained its shield. As the bullets were deflected by the wall of shimmering energy it brought up its own weapon. A lance of golden death sprung forward from the abnormal looking gun in its hand striking and bissecting the crashed car behind him.

Williams continued firing until the collector corrected its aim, the beam instantly cut through his shields and ate at his armor. When an alarm sounded signaling his shield had failed he ducked behind cover but as the beam tore at his armor it finally got through at his shoulder. Pure focused energy met flesh and flesh lost, it cut and burt skin and muscle faster than he could move. By the time he was fully protected by the barrier there was a eight inch gash in his armor and a deep laceration where the beam had cut through his shoulder.

He gritted his teeth as he peeled back a section of armor ande drew a syrette from a pocket in his armor. He quickly stabbed the needle into his exposed skin injected the contents into his collar. In a flash the pain lessened dramatically, replaced with a dull throbbing at the wound.

With the wonderous pain killer working its magic he was able to concentrate once more, and so he flicked the spent syrette into a pile of debris nearby. He then waited for his shield to come back on line, the blue meter on his hud filled once more signaling the he was good to go. Alex primed a grenade and stood once more, intent on returning the favor to the Collector with the laser. He sent the grenade flying straight at a group of enemies huddled behind a burning car stuck halfway in the ground. The disk flew over their cover and detonated mid air, high explosive carnage liquefying internal organs and pulverizing bone and cybernetic components.

The limbs thrown from behind the car was evidence enough of the carnage that lay beyond. Now with the heavy laser off the battle field he directed his attention on a the husks running up the street. His troops needed no direction. Machine guns from all directions fill the air with lead, and shot guns blasted apart their ranks. The unshielded husks were cut down and blown apart faster than they could be deployed. Alex's gun sounded an alert and started venting superheated air from ducts all along its barrel, in response he dropped the gun by his side and drew his sidearm. The weapon of choice, the M-5 Phalanx.

A laser sight danced across a collector's head before that particular spot was impacted by a slug at a fraction of the speed of light. The skull caved and the back of its head exploded. Five more shots rang out, and five more heads were given new entry wounds. Yet for all the damage done, the sea of cybernetic zombies was relentless.

As more poured in from around buildings troopers on the front line were forced to fall back or risk being swarmed. As they back pedaled Alex saw an opportunity in the funnel created by the building collapse. Pointing to the three stories of the building still standing upright on the left of the road he called out over the gunfire, "HEAVY WEAPONS MOVE YOUR ASSES!"

Four soldiers jumped from their cover and followed their leader's direction to the partially standing building. Four green lights winked on Alex's HUD as they all sprinted to their new post. Jumping through windows on the ground floor they found their way up to the next floor via a miraculously still standing staircase.

From the second floor windows the hoard of husks blended together looking more like an ocean battering the shore than mob of mechanical zombies. Each of them reached behind their backs and pulled a compacted grenade launcher from its magnetic clamp on the shoulder. Four 40mm barrels extended from the windows of the second floor and in in perfect unison each pulled the trigger.

Four 40mm high explosive charges accelerated out of their respective barrels. Four grenades streaked through the air intended for targets each their own. Four thunderous explosions ripped apart the hoard, each consuming many of the husks in fiery damnation. More husks filled in the gaps of the hoard, stepping over burnt and cracked asphalt and body parts in an attempt to overrun the ODST company. More grenades launched forward from the tubes to blast apart bodies until finally the street was nothing more that a burning mass graveyard.

With the sounds of battle fading away and the street ablaze with burning bodies Alex noticed just how quiet everything was. No more gunfire and no more explosions, the battle was over but everyone of them was left to wonder who had really lost. There were no cries of victory no celebration of any sort, because every trooper there had seen the faces of the husks, seen the scraps of clothing and bits of jewelry still hanging off the corpses.

In that fire laid not the bodies of their enemy but the bodies of those they had taken the oath to protect. Each and every one of those husks had been an alliance citizen, and for every one of them they had been forced to put down was a failure on their part. They had not won the battle here, but neither had their enemy, and that had to count for something. At least thats what they hoped for.

Alex collected his assault rifle and ran over to the squad's SIC, "Sergeant, move whatever wounded you have back to the command post, reinforce your positions but don't get comfortable. We're moving out as soon as we get logistics sorted."

"The sergeant nodded, "Yes sir." He responded. Then he motioned to Alex's shoulder. "Sir, shouldn't you see a medic about that."

Williams rolled his shoulder and was thankful his helmet hid his wince. He kept his voice even as he answered "Its just a scratch, I'll see the doc when the perimeter is secure. Now get moving"

With any further words the soldier walked off to relay the orders. Alex turned and set off back to the command post. They needed to move out soon, their outpost had been found and nothing but death awaited them if they stayed. "Death or far worse" he thought to himself taking one last look at the lifeless husks covering the ground.

His four squad leaders stood waiting for him when he rounded the corner. The way they stood, how quiet they were was just more evidence of how much this mission would tax his men. None wanted to think of who it was that the husks used be but at the same time it was all any of them could think about. If any of them made it out of here alive they would not walk without scars. Scars cut much deeper than any blade or bullet could reach.

Their demeanor soon changed however as Alex stepped out of the shadow of the building and his newest battle scars were brought to light. Caught by suprise they all rushed to assist their injured leader. The fastest was their number one scout, Sydney as she was known. Once she saw the full extent of the injury it caused her to cringe, "Damn Williams, what the hell happened?" She asked.

"Collector heavy weapons, bastard cut right through my shields and armor." He moved over to the rest of the team, still in shock of the severity of the wound and the fact Alex was still standing. "I'm not dead yet, stop staring and call the damn medic." He snapped. Jonh was the first shook out of his thoughts and was the lucky one to go fetch the medic from where she had set up shop just around the block.

Alex dropped onto a crate that had been pulled out for him by Higgans. "Fill your squads in on the plan, we roll out in twenty. Alpha and Delta form up at here, Bravo, Charlie, and Echo move to the metro entrance five blocks south." Jonh chose that moment to come rushing around the corner with the medic in tow. Even though they all wore the same armor Alex could tell them all apart at just a glance, and she was none other than their company medic one Melissa McKay. Though each squad had at least one field medic, McKay was who you hoped was residing over you if you had life threatening injuries.

"Melissa, how nice of you to finally join us." Alex said in a joking tone, most likely the result of the amount of painkillers in his system.

"Oh shut it, its bad enough you need patching again, don't make me sit through your commentary to." She snapped as she readied the medi-gel applicator.

"Oh now I though you enjoyed our playful banter." He said while removing the shoulder pauldron of his armor.

McKay didn't respond verbally as that would just encourage him, instead she continued along treating the major, applying more pressure that was strictly necessary for medi-gel application she was rewarded with a pained yelp from Alex. "Your a real bitch, McKay" he mumbled.

Once again she upped the pressure on his wound, his face cringed but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of hearing him in pain again. "What was that Alex?" She asked feigning innocence.

"I said your a wonderful doctor and most definitely not a crazed bitch." He said through clenched teeth.

"That's what I thought." She wrapped it in gauze and topped him off on morphine. "Don't go and get shot up again while I'm out."

Alex shook his head grinning like an idiot, "I dunno doc. Seeing as I'm your most frequent patron, I wouldn't want to put you out of business." McKay. Just shook her head as she walked back to her battlefield trama kit. All the way muttering about having to lug the "heavy ass piece o' shit" around.

After watching McKay stalk off Alex reattached the shoulder plate and stood to the concerned stares of his teammates. Though each one was thinking it it was Sydney that voiced their concerns. "Alex, you sure your ok? That was a nasty hit and we could help everyone get sorted while you take five."

Alex patted her on the shoulder, "Have some faith guys, I'm still breathing." His words did little to reassure them but its not like they could do anything about it. So as he walked down the street to where several crates were piled up on the corner they fell in behind him. His eye immediately found what they were looking for, two heavily reinforced crates with a radiation warning label etched on its face. A shining black alloy created its featureless surface and as his fingers neared a small, seamless panel fell back slightly then slid back under the rest of the shell to reveal a holographic projector.

An orange keypad sprang to life centimeters above the crate, casting an eerie glow over the mirrored surface. Alex paid the strange sight no attention as his fingers quickly keyed in a twelve digit access code. The crate responded with a hiss of air as the pressure seals released and air rushed into the vacuum sealed crate. Next several clicks sounded as the internal locking mechanisms opened.

After the overly long show of unlocking the cover finally opened to reveal five cylindrical canisters. Each one exactly one foot four inches tall with a base of seven inches on both ends. A holographic projector was set in the side and a retracting handle extended from the top half. Both rims shaped as decagons instead of circles, with magnetic clams built into each side. The finishing touch was the matte black paint with the same radiation warning symbol on its sides. To anyone that didn't know better the devices appeared to be harmless tin cans. But these weapons and Helljumpers went hand in hand, nearly every ODST in service had seen the devastation the cylindrical devices could cause.

"Fill in your squads and keep track of the time, remember 15:00. From here on out we're operating under radio silence unless its an emergency." Alex said as he unlocked the other container.

They each gave a nod before jogging off to collect their squads. Alex however, just looked at the image staring back at him in the shining alloy of the weapons crate. In the mirrored surface he appeared nothing more than a suit of armor, a soulless killing machine. In times like this he sometimes wondered what the enemy thought of them. Were they just weapons to be pointed at the enemy? But now the line defining ones enemy was blurred, when you pulled the trigger was it an enemy or was it just another victim.

Footsteps, boots marching on asphalt, sounded the approach of Fireteam Alpha. His squad each in the vacuum sealed armor with a gun in hand. Each ready to give a proper welcome the Reapers to Earth. He couldn't blame them either, the recent battle had proven just how merciless their enemy was.

These Reapers would attack innocent civilians. Alex and his men would repay them one five megaton kick to the face at a time. If they wanted Earth they'd have to pry it from their cold dead hands and last they checked they weren't dead yet.

AN: So again sorry for the delay and please review.


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